How to remove fexofenadine from decongestant. Enso's little story

So you are from a country where they are mixing there decongestant tablet pse with fexofenadine, here are two ways to remove fexofenadine, the second being much more "easy/ghetto",
but does leave some impurity.

why am i writing this?
To tell a story about how a bee would remove fexofenadine from decongestant tablets and be left with pse

Disclaimer:
The up coming post is a 100% hypothetical scenario that I’ve generated based on the information that I’ve picked up over time… I have never actually done any of the things listed in this thread, as they are illegal, and I do not want anyone else to do anything in this thread either as it is illegal. It is simply a fictitious story that I imagined.METHOD 1

1. Remove the white half, which contains fexofenadine, by holding each tab under running tepid water or by submerging in tepid water until it expands and falls away from the brown half.
Alternatively, cut them down the middle with a box cutting blade. Crush the brown half and soak in acetone for eight hours. This will dissolve the binders, cellulose and time release coating.
Pour the acetone off into a filter to catch the pill mass and pour enough acetone through the pill mass and filter to wash clean. Let the pill mass dry in the filter and then transfer into a new filter.

2. The next step uses water to dissolves pse and leaves behind the gypsum binder.
Pour warm dh2o slowly onto the pill mass so it dissolves in the filter and drains through.
Then pour it back through the filter two more times until all the pse is dissolved.
Then pour a small amount of new warm water through the filter to wash any remaining
pse. Once you've done that put the filter aside and let contents dry.

3. Now make a 40% sodium hydroxide (NaOH or lye) solution and add to the water/pse you just filtered until the pH is 12.8. Make sure you stir the mixture really well and expose all of the pse hcl to the sodium hydroxide solution to convert it to a freebase. The longer its left the more product you get back and it also give the pseudo time to completely convert to a freebase.

4. Put the freebase in a sep funnel. Add the non-polar layer: xylene or similar.
Its easier to do the remaining steps in the sep funnel to save transferring the solution and losing pse.
Once you've added the xylene, give it a good shake or stir and let it sit for half hour. Separate aqueous/non-polar layers then wash the non-polar (xylene) with a small amount of 10% sodium hydroxide solution.

Hint: A plastic sandwich/freezer baggie can be used as a sep funnel, put in, shake, let seperate, then poke a small hole in the bottom corner, when you want to cut it off, just pinch the hole shut.

5. Now you need to titrate the freebase pseudo back to pseudoephedrine hcl. Once
xylene is separated, pour it into a jar and put a small amount of dh2o in the jar and get some hcl acid ready and a dropper or syringe, as well as some pH strips. Test the pH of the xylene.
It should be about pH 10.
Drop a few drops (4-5 drops) of hcl into the xylene and test the pH of the xylene again. Watch closely at how the acid goes through the xylene and into the water. Also
count how many drops you drop into the xylene.
You should see a fog or white cloud on top of the xylene.
Swirl your solution and let the water and xylene mix well and then add a few more drops
of hcl. Your aiming for a pH of 6.3 -6.8 in your xylene layer. When you get to pH 8 be careful to only add one drop at a time and only take your pH reading after you have swirled your solution and allowed it to settle.
Titrating is a slow process but the slower you go, the more freebase
Pseudoephedrine will convert to hcl meaning higher yields. Its only the pH of the xylene layer that you have to worry about. As long as it is on 7 or just below, the aqueous layer will be a little higher.
Shake it hard for about 5min and then check the xylene pH and also draw up a bit of the
aqueous layer and check its pH. The both should be close to the same.

6. Now separate and put the aqueous layer to the side and add a tiny bit of water to the xylene and shake. Then separate that and add the aqueous layer to the one you just put to the side.

7. Evaporate the aqueous layer in a pyrex dish and you should be done. Do a burn test on some foil to check for any residues.
Hint: You may want to keep the xylene and add a smaller water layer back to it and leave it overnight.
Do not add any more hcl acid, just let it sit overnight. Any pseudoephedrine that is still in the xylene will move down into the water.
If the xylene was still a bit cloudy, this is a sign there may well be some still in there.
You can also evaporate the xylene afterwards and check for any pseudoephedrine still remaining.METHOD 2

1. Place your decongestant tablets into a sieve.
2. Run warm water over them while shaking the sieve from side to side until all the white has been washed away \ dissolved.
3. Warm up your metho by placing in a container full of boiling water, turn off all flames (REMEMBER NO FLAMES).
4. Place the remaining brown pieces into your warm metho, and stir up really well.
5. Syphine the metho leaveing the remaining power on the bottom of your container.
6. Repeat step 3-5 another 3 times.
7. With all the metho you have saved from your washes place it in a electric wok on low until all metho has evaporated.
8. After all metho has evaporated you have your pse.
Well That's All Folks.
Feel free to ask any questions.

Up next: Removing CMP get as close as you can to 100% enso’s clean story

hello enso
thanks for all the educational and helpful posts.
i juz wanna ask.. what is metho?
sorry noob here.. and english is not my first language. my apologies..

thanks in advance enso.

Not a problem metho is Australian slang for methylated spirit.

methylated spirit
mɛθəleɪtɪdˈspɪrɪt/
noun
noun: methylated spirits
alcohol for general use that has been made unfit for drinking by the addition of about 10 per cent methanol and typically also some pyridine and a violet dye.

thanks enso for the response.
that is why i dont understand.. its a aussie slang.
so its denatured alcohol.. is it must be denatured alcohol only or it can be substituted by any other alcohol? like ethyl alcohol maybe?

and one more thing enso..
im planning to write my own story for the first time... and im thinking that maybe you can help me thru PM's? juz questions about my grammar to make my story great and correct.

only if U have free time man.. i know Ur always busy.
thanks in advance again enso.

5. Syphine the metho leaveing the remaining power on the bottom of your container.

"leaving the remaining power"
im assuming this is a typo maybe you meant powder..

my question is about the left out powder.. is that the impurities and should i set it aside for disposal? and all the liquid saved for heating?

im trying not to ask stupid questions.. and questioning the obvious. i really apologize..
maybe im juz paranoid 'coz i really dont have room for clumsy mistakes on my soon to be story. (need to boost some confidence here)

after i got lit juz realized the stupid mistake i've done is too much heat. it takes time and patience.. need to be careful on evaporating. good thing i have a glassware makes shit much easier.
im gonna try it again tomorrow.. for now im juz gonna smoke a J to relax my mind.

5. Syphine the metho leaveing the remaining power on the bottom of your container.

"leaving the remaining power"
im assuming this is a typo maybe you meant powder..

my question is about the left out powder.. is that the impurities and should i set it aside for disposal? and all the liquid saved for heating?

im trying not to ask stupid questions.. and questioning the obvious. i really apologize..
maybe im juz paranoid 'coz i really dont have room for clumsy mistakes on my soon to be story. (need to boost some confidence here)

thanks again man

Yeah unfortantly it was a typo and I am unable to edit op anymore
And yes you are correct this powder is impurity

after i got lit juz realized the stupid mistake i've done is too much heat. it takes time and patience.. need to be careful on evaporating. good thing i have a glassware makes shit much easier.
im gonna try it again tomorrow.. for now im juz gonna smoke a J to relax my mind.

Yes it sounds like that was your problem.

You do not want to just pump up the heat or you will superheat the solvent and destroy the PSE.

My suggestion?
Only add enough heat till you start to see the metho evaporate then leave it at this temp...
Please note: It does not need to be at a full boil this is why a say to use the low heat setting.

And not being a prick because it took me so long to get back to you but in the future please edit your original comment and add further information.
It makes things look a whole lot neater.